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Monday, May 22, 2017 1:36 AM Local Time
South Florida pro vaults into contention for Global Casino Championship seat
The Monster Stack is always a popular event at any given Circuit stop, and this trip to Harrah’s New Orleans was no exception.
From a big field of 750 entries, Brett Bader emerged as the winner of the $365-buy-in event, claiming his second gold ring and the $45,000 top prize. The victory is the second on the WSOP Circuit for Bader, who won his first ring just this past November at the Palm Beach Kennel Club.
Perhaps just as importantly, though, this win also earned Bader 50 points in the season-long race for seats in the WSOP Global Casino Championship, bringing him to a total of 147.5 points and moving him just above the current qualification threshold.
Bader is 26-year-old professional poker player from Jericho, New York, on the North Shore of Long Island. He now makes his home in the poker hotbed of South Florida, though. Primarily a cash game player, Bader is still a fixture in the region’s medium-stakes tournaments, and he typically plays a full schedule each summer in Las Vegas, too.
The run to this win began with a productive Day 1 performance, with Bader ending the day fifth in chips with 54 players remaining. He quadrupled his stack as he picked his way from there to the final table, entering nine-handed play in third place.
The group of finalists was a tough one that included WSOP bracelet winner Jim Willerson and a handful of WSOP Circuit ring winners, too. Willerson has one himself, Krzysztof Stybaniewicz two, and Robert Georato has three of them.
By the time they were three-handed fort the Monster Stack ring, Stybaniewicz, Georato, and Bader were competing to add to their collection of Circuit hardware, and Bader was the one who snagged this one. Georato fell in third place, and Bader went on to defeat Stybaniewicz in a long heads-up duel to secure his second Circuit victory and his second gold ring.
Friday, May 19, 2017 3:35 AM Local Time
Just before 3:30 a.m., Brett Bader defeats Krzysztof Stybaniewicz to win the ring and the $45,000 top prize. It's the second ring of the season for Bader, and the 50 points he receives moves him to 147.5 and above the current qualification line for the WSOP Global Casino Championship.
A more complete story about Bader's win will be published shortly.
Thursday, May 18, 2017 10:13 PM Local Time
They are down to nine players in the Monster Stack. The following is the seating with chip counts at the start of final table play. They begin in Level 28 with blinds of 25,000/50,000 and a 5,000 ante.
Seat 1: Kimberly LeJeune - 1,710,000
Seat 2: Jim Willerson - 395,000
Seat 3: Gary Friedlander - 1,235,000
Seat 4: Robert Georato - 1,540,000
Seat 5: Rafael Tanobe Rondino - 2,790,000
Seat 6: Brett Bader - 1,900,000
Seat 7: Huey Hulin - 725,000
Seat 8: Dwight Lemoine - 1,060,000
Seat 9: Krzysztof Stybaniewicz - 3,600,000
Thursday, May 18, 2017 2:01 PM Local Time
The cards are in the air for Day 2 of this Monster Stack.
Thursday, May 18, 2017 2:00 AM Local Time
Thursday, May 18, 2017 1:41 AM Local Time
Level 21 is complete, and the clock has run out on Day 1. The big starting field of 750 entries was whittled down to 54 survivors by night's end, and they'll return Thursday to play down to a winner.
Six-time ring winner John Holley finished the day inside the top five, turning his 20,000-chip starting stack into 553,000 over the course of the day. He and everyone else are chasing Lynn Morris, though, whose stack of 942,000 will set the pace heading into Day 2.
Here's the overnight top five:
1: Lynn Morris - 942,000
2: Eric Vogel - 661,000
3: Rafael Tanate Rondino - 626,000
4: John Holley - 553,000
5: Brett Bader - 546,000
The list of those chasing the leaders is loaded with familiar names, too, including Krzysztof Stybaniewicz (385,000), Vincent Moscati (324,000), Robert Georato (317,000), Juan Mendoza (274,000), Loni Harwood (245,000) and Viet Vo (192,000). Use the links below for the complete end-of-day stats.
Chip Counts | Seat Draw
Blinds will be 6,000/12,000 with a 2,000 ante when play resumes, putting the average stack around 23 big blinds. Everyone left is guaranteed to earn at least $729, with one of the season's last gold rings and $45,000 in cash reserved for the winner.
Day 2 begins at 2 p.m.
Wednesday, May 17, 2017 11:55 PM Local Time
Right at the tail end of Level 19, the field is reduced to 81 players, and they're in the money in the Monster Stack. Everyone left will earn at least $560.
Day 1 continues until the end of Level 21, or about 1:15 a.m.
Wednesday, May 17, 2017 7:13 PM Local Time
This $365 Monster Stack drew exactly 750 entries, in fact, creating a prizepool worth $225,000. That money will be shared by the final 81 players, with a min-cash worth $560. The ring and $45,000 in cash will go to the winner, along with 50 points in the points race in one of the final chances to add to the season-long totals.
Wednesday, May 17, 2017 6:02 PM Local Time
The first 12 levels are complete, and the field is on their dinner break. And what a field it is. This break represents the last chance for registration and re-entries, and the field should be around 750 total entries by the time it's all said and done.
Registration will be closed once the new level begins around 6:40 p.m., and the prizepool will be released shortly thereafter.
Wednesday, May 17, 2017 12:57 PM Local Time
This Monster Stack is shaping up to be a big one. It drew close to 500 entries last season, and this season's field is almost there already — just four levels into the day. There are about 490 entries as the first break arrives, with late registration and re-entries available for five more hours or so.
Wednesday, May 17, 2017 11:05 AM Local Time
Day 1 is under way inside the ballroom.
Wednesday, May 17, 2017 2:48 AM Local Time
There are no restarts at Harrah's New Orleans today, as the entire ballroom will be occupied by Day 1 of the popular $365 Monster Stack.
Chris Sheffield won this event last season. And the season before that. Sheffield went back-to-back in Monster Stacks at this property, defeating 364 entries the first time and 497 the second. His total haul was more than $56,000 and two gold rings for those two victories, and it seems likely he'll be back in the room on Wednesday to try for the three-peat.
Here are the details for this event:
- This is a two-day event
- Players begin with 20,000 in tournament chips
- Levels 1-12 are 30 minutes apiece
- Levels 13-21 are 40 minutes apiece
- Late registration and unlimited re-entries are available until the start of Level 12 (6:30 p.m.)
- Day 1 concludes after Level 21
Cards go in the air at 11 a.m.